From the below listed prior art patents, it is evident that the concept of exhausting air from toilet bowls is ancient in the art. The desirability of exhausted fouled air from a toilet bowl to a conduit to the space exterior of the toilet facility or bathroom is self-evident and the basis of the prior art developments with respect to same. However, there are numerous draw-backs to the prior art systems.
Most of the known devices draw air from the interior of the toilet bowl through the underside of the seat, attachments to the underside of the seat or even through openings in the underside of the rim of the bowl. Prior art machines accomplish this, but they accentuate present problems of cleaning and disinfecting the appurtenances of a water closet, including the bowl and the seat. The forcible withdrawal of fouled air from the interior space of the bowl through the rim of the bowl itself or the seat creates additional cleaning problems, particularly within the bowl rim and the seat proper, as well as disinfecting problems.
Another problem common to the prior art of which I am aware lies in the fact that the foul and odoriferous air which is removed from the toilet bowl and the bathroom environment is transferred merely to another location, without any change in its character or nature. Specifically, this removed air is not deordorized or disinfected or both. In the case of an isolated house situated, for example, on a multi-acre tract of land with no adjacent dwellings, this is no problem. However, this is not the typical situation and where the ventilated toilet or toilets are in a hotel or a motel unit or in houses closely situated with respect to one another, the forcible venting of such gases can be highly objectionable to the exterior environment. Yet further, it should be understood that current plumbing codes do not permit the exhuast from a ventilated toilet to be passed into the plumbing vent.